Dustin Farnum

Dustin Farnum

Who's Who in the Film World, 1914
Born Dustin Lancy Farnum
May 27, 1874
Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, U.S.
Died July 3, 1929 (aged 55)
New York, New York, U.S.
Cause of death
kidney failure
Occupation silent film actor, singer, vaudeville performer
Years active 1914–1926
Spouse(s)
  • Agnes Christine Johnson (m. 1898; div. 1908)
  • Mary Connell (m. 1909; div. 1924)
  • Winifred Kingston (m. 1924–1929, his death; 1 child)

Dustin Lancy Farnum (May 27, 1874 – July 3, 1929) was an American singer, dancer, and actor on the stage and in silent films.

Career

After a great success in a number of stage roles, in 1914 Farnum landed his first film role in the movie Soldiers of Fortune, and later in Cecil B. DeMille's The Squaw Man. Although he played a wide variety of roles, he tended toward westerns and became one of the biggest stars of the genre. He was married to actress Winifred Kingston. He was the older brother of actor William Farnum, whom he closely resembled, and the lesser known silent film director Marshall Farnum (died 1917). He and Winifred Kingston are the parents of radio actress Estelle "Dustine" Runyon (1925–1983).

Dustin Farnum
The Parson of Panamint (1916)

Filmography

Broadway plays

  • A Romance of Athlone (January 29, 1900 – March 3, 1900)
  • Marcelle (October 1900)
  • More Than Queen (October 30, 1900 – November 1900)
  • The Virginian (January 5, 1904 – May 1904)
  • The Ranger (September 1907)
  • The Rector's Garden (March 1908)
  • Cameo Kirby (December 20, 1909 – January 1910)
  • The Silent Call (January 1911)
  • The Squaw Man (January 9, 1911 – January 17, 1911)
  • The Littlest Rebel (November 14, 1911 – January 1912)
  • Arizona (April 28, 1913 – June 1913)

Legacy

According to an interview in the April 1975 edition of Playboy, Dustin Hoffman was named after Farnum. Additionally, according to an interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR, on January 16, 2013, Dustin says his parents were expecting him to be a girl and did not have a boy's name picked out for him. When his Mother was pressured to give him a name, she picked the name Dustin from a magazine the other lady in her room was reading, which featured Dustin Farnum on the cover.[1]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dustin Farnum.